A woolly fence in Yabberup, Western Australia
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (370125)
Rockingham, Australia
October 16, 2022 2:15am CST
Tonight is our last night at this house-sit but I’m optimistic that we might be asked back again as I know their previous sitters are now even more elderly than us! 
I checked the sheep this morning and took this photo of the fence where they rub against the netting. They are a self-shedding breed and don’t usually get shorn but I’m sure they get hot and itchy during the warm days as their coat doesn’t shed all at once. They often look very bedraggled.
A month or so ago when we were first looking after them, there were 23 but there are now 21. One succumbed to old age and another got fly-blown and had to be put down.
I checked the sheep this morning and took this photo of the fence where they rub against the netting. They are a self-shedding breed and don’t usually get shorn but I’m sure they get hot and itchy during the warm days as their coat doesn’t shed all at once. They often look very bedraggled.
A month or so ago when we were first looking after them, there were 23 but there are now 21. One succumbed to old age and another got fly-blown and had to be put down.20 people like this
20 responses
@oahuwriter (26773)
• United States
17 Oct 22
Sadly, poor thing, passed. Seems they had a nice life living where they did?
1 person likes this
@oahuwriter (26773)
• United States
17 Oct 22
@JudyEv
Nice for them. You all set for your next house sitting?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 22
@oahuwriter It's a month before the next one but we have to take photos at a marathon event in a fortnight.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (212131)
• United States
16 Oct 22
That's very cool. It looks like our house when we had Spitz dogs. lololol
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 22
@LindaOHio If they have any tangles at all, I guess it hurts to be brushed.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (212131)
• United States
17 Oct 22
@JudyEv Yes. The last two were Pomeranians. The one was always tangled. The other was silky and never tangled. Also he would growl when brushed; so I had to stop. Don't know what his former life was like. Maybe he was abused.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51242)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Oct 22
Does anyone collect and process that wool?
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51242)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
17 Oct 22
@JudyEv Not even for a hobbyist?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct 22
@BarBaraPrz If you were keen you could gather it off the fence and spin it but you'd be much better off to get some when a sheep is shorn. The longer staples (length) would be easier to spin.
1 person likes this
@sathviksouvik (22250)
•
18 Oct 22
great share. I have never seen this type of fence ever
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 22
This would be an old fence. They don't use those types of fence-posts any more.
@sathviksouvik (22250)
•
18 Oct 22
@JudyEv the fences were unique Judy. I loved them
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (202003)
• United States
16 Oct 22
Well if you want to go back, I hope you can.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (166437)
• United States
16 Oct 22
Unless you and Vince have done something terrible to their animals or house, the people will probably ask you back again.
Isn't the wool worth money? Why not shear them and sell the wool?
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (166437)
• United States
17 Oct 22
@JudyEv Oh, okay. Thank you for explaining that to me. I appreciate it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct 22
Some breeds have good quality wool but others are bred more for meat. The wool on these is not worth much. They are kept purely and simply as lawn-mowers. They are really a meat breed but these will all die of old age one day. At least that is the owner's hope.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127205)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Oct 22
Do the owners not shear the wool and sell it? Do they have the sheep for other purposes?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127205)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Oct 22
@JudyEv I figured they might be there for grass control.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (15376)
• Hong Kong
16 Oct 22
You are a very experienced house-sitter now.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74737)
• United States
16 Oct 22
I recall the ones dying at your last sitting 
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I assumed the people created some kind of weird fence when I saw the title but when I looked at the photo I figured it out before I read what you wrote. Birds must love to come pick the wool off for their nests.
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I assumed the people created some kind of weird fence when I saw the title but when I looked at the photo I figured it out before I read what you wrote. Birds must love to come pick the wool off for their nests.1 person likes this
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct 22
We have another one in a month. That is just for a week with three dogs but we're due back there in February for longer.
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct 22
These are meant to be keeping the grass down but they aren't doing a very good job! Once summer comes and the grass dries off, they might keep up with it more. Their owner is much too fond of them to either eat or sell them.
@JudyEv (370125)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct 22
Some breeds shed but mostly they don't shed all at once and they can look very bedraggled along the way - not that that matters. It's handy for the farmer if he doesn't need to shear them. These photos were taken in Ireland. A lot of wool has got caught in the trees and the sheep has lost most of its fleece but not all.
1 person likes this
